PULA, Jan 13 (Hina) - Istria County Prefect Ivan Jakovcic told a regular monthly news conference in Pula on Tuesday that "the activities of the new government are encouraging because they are not aimed at confrontation with Istria,
notably the programmes and projects of the Istria County leadership", Jakovcic, however, added that he was still sceptic about the government's activities until he saw the effects of its work.
PULA, Jan 13 (Hina) - Istria County Prefect Ivan Jakovcic told a
regular monthly news conference in Pula on Tuesday that "the
activities of the new government are encouraging because they are not
aimed at confrontation with Istria, notably the programmes and
projects of the Istria County leadership", Jakovcic, however, added
that he was still sceptic about the government's activities until he
saw the effects of its work.#L#
Answering a reporter's question whether Istria County would stop
insisting on a referendum on the county's regional autonomy after
successful talks with Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Jakovcic said the
county would draw up a bill on regional self-government and autonomy
in accordance with the Croatian Constitution
"If the government and parliament fail to endorse our proposal, which
can be interpreted as non-compliance with the Croatian Constitution,
it is very likely that Istria would call a referendum on its regional
autonomy," the prefect said, adding that the referendum should not be
brought into connection with county's projects important for all
citizens of Istria, regardless of their party affiliation.
Jakovcic believes that calling a referendum is a political issue.
Should the majority of Istria citizens vote for regional autonomy,
Croatia will have to respect that, he said
(Hina) it sb